CPS has announced it would be closing its clinics across several states. This comes as its former CEO was indicted by a federal grand jury for criminal kickback charges.

Multiple clinics are being closed by one of the largest pain management groups in the Southeast amid increased financial troubles and a federal criminal investigation which is targeted at its former CEO.

According to news reports, Tennessee-based Comprehensive Pain Specialists this week notified its patients and employees about clinical closures, causing a scramble for patients as they try to find new doctors willing to prescribe them opioids.

CPS which is based in the Nashville area was established in 2005 and quickly grew into a clinical powerhouse, which has treated approximately 48,000 pain patients per month, at more than 50 clinics in Tennessee and other states.

The doctor-owned company has endured a series of recent setbacks, including earlier clinic closures, pending lawsuits over alleged debts and the criminal case against former CEO John Davis.

In April, a federal grand jury in Tennessee indicted Davis on criminal kickback charges. He pleaded not guilty. CPS also has faced nearly a dozen civil lawsuits from contractors alleging unpaid debts, including suits brought by two of its former doctors. A Justice Department official said the closure was not related to the criminal case against Davis.

The shutdown of the clinics comes amid growing criticism over the use of opioids for treating chronic pain. According to Altarum, an economic research firm, the opioid crisis has cost the U.S. economy more than $1 trillion since 2001. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, at least 200,000 people have died nationwide from overdoses since 1999.

According to the company’s website, CPS now operates 40 clinics in eight states: Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, Ohio and Tennessee. Half are in Tennessee. News outlets have reported that all 21 clinics in the state would be closing by the end of the month.

Federal prosecutors charged Davis with accepting more than $750,000 in illegal bribes and kickbacks in a scheme that billed Medicare $4.6 million for durable medical equipment.

Davis has pleaded not guilty. The U.S. attorney’s office has said in court filings that CPS and its employees are “victims” in the case.

The company also has been hit with civil suits. Anesthesiologist Donald E. Jones sued the company in May 2017, alleging that it failed to honor his employment contracts.

Jones said he joined the firm in 2012 to staff three Tennessee clinics at a salary of $30,000 a month plus a percentage of fees from laboratory and other services. Jones argued that he generated collections in excess of $9 million. In 2016, the clinics served 41,364 patients, the busiest of all the clinics, according to the suit.

But in April 2016, according to the suit, CPS quit paying him and in February 2017 the company began transferring his patients to other clinics and “making disparaging remarks” about him to patients.

CPS countered that Jones failed to deliver “safe and effective medical care, which CPS in court filings attributed to an “ongoing compensation dispute.” The suit is pending.

Several contractors, including companies that leased office space and medical software, also have taken CPS to court alleging unpaid bills and leases, according to court filings. The cases are pending.